Monday

Sep 10, 2018 at 2:00 PMSep 10, 2018 at 3:27 PM

BOSTON — On Monday, Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin ordered a district-wide hand recount in the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary race, after Democratic candidate Daniel A. Koh filed a sufficient number of signatures to request the recount.

The results certified by Galvin’s office Monday indicate that Koh received 18,405 votes to Trahan’s 18,527 in the Sept. 4 State Primary. The difference between the two candidates is less than one half of one percent, allowing Galvin to order a recount throughout the entire district. Kohn and Trahan were the top two candidates in a pool of 10 Democrats running to get on the general election ballot.

Under state law, the boards of registrars in each city and town in the district must set a date to recount all Democratic ballots cast in their communities in the state primary. The recount in each municipality must be completed by Sep. 17 and written notice of the date, time, and location must be provided to candidates at least three days before the date of the recount. There are 32 municipalities in the district.

Tellers hired by the local election officials will count each ballot by hand, tallying only the votes for the Congressional race. The process in each city and town is open to public observation and each candidate on the ballot is entitled to have representatives present during the recount.

Galvin will exercise direct control over the recount proceedings in the cities of Lawrence and Lowell. Galvin wrote to officials in both cities on Monday informing them that he would be assigning officials to oversee the upcoming recount and election, when he will also be on the ballot seeking a seventh term.

"The inadequate staffing of an election office so as to interfere with the orderly administration of an election constitutes a practice or procedure of a local official which is contrary to election laws," Galvin wrote to Lawrence. "A determination has been made that this matter constitutes urgent circumstances."

According to Galvin, he took action in Lawrence because of "imminent departure of the city’s only experienced elections specialist."

As for Lowell, Galvin wrote that administrative errors in the processing of ballots and the tallying of primary results from last Tuesday prompted his action.

Galvin ordered all ballots and election paperwork impounded on Sept. 5, in anticipation of a possible recount. The ballots are supposed to remain under seal and locked in each city and town’s vault until the recount begins.

The boards of registrars in each city and town will act as the judges of the recount, according to a statement from Galvin's office. The results of the recount will determine the Democratic nominee for the 3rd Congressional District on the Nov. 6 State Election ballot.